the butterfly effect
by bellmare
Summary: "Their eyes met, and instead of a spark, their first meeting cumulated in a most spectacular collision of epic proportions." A hundred shades of Blue and Green, each different from the last. —OldRivalShipping. Discontinued.
1. numb

**overture. **_It should be no secret by now that I am a huge fan of Pokémon, and that Green/Blue is my OTP for that particular fandom ; whilst, by embarking upon this journey of epic proportions, I realise that I really shouldn't be allowing my attention to be diverted away from my other ongoing, multichaptered fics, I just can't help but dish out the OldRival love. Over the course of the next few months, I will be attempting to conduct two simultaneous 100 Theme Challenges, and writing two sets of oneshot collections, comprising of – hopefully – a hundred stories apiece, with my word prompts taken from 100_prompts on LiveJournal. That said, I wish you happy reading!_

**prologue.**

prompt - - - 001. numb

genre - - - angst, hurt/comfort

rating - - - T

synopsis - - - _It hurt, more than anything, to think that everything in her life could be snatched away that easily, in one fell swoop. "Tell me," she murmured, "are you even real?"_

disclaimers - - - I do not in any way, shape or form own Pokémon or the characters portrayed in this work of fiction. I acknowledge that some, if not most, of the events depicted here did not happen in canon, and even if they did, were altered slightly.

**- - x x x x x - -**

There were no words to describe this feeling. Of finally having the chance to come face-to-face with the very parents she had resigned herself to never knowing, and being able to enjoy the simple pleasures of knowing their names and faces, and knowing that, above all, they still loved the daughter they had never truly known. She had been looking forwards to this day for longer than she could even remember; it was the first dream she had vaguely allowed herself to acknowledge, the moment she escaped from the stronghold of the Masked Man, and had caught her first glimpse of liberty.

And now, it was happening. As she waited outside the ship, shielding her face from the sun and absently humming a tune under her breath, Blue could scarcely believe it. _Today was the day she would meet her parents._ She gazed upwards, twirling the handle of her umbrella as she took in the expanse of azure sky above her head, unable to keep herself from smiling; patting her Blastoise's sun-warmed shell, she gazed longingly towards the moored ship. "Oh, Turtley," she whispered under her breath, "this is going to be one of the best days of my life, isn't it?"

Her train of thought was interrupted, however, by a sudden voice cutting through her ruminations. Watching as a portly sailor ambled to a stop in front of her, she mirrored his quizzical smile, a question in her eyes.

"Why are you so early?" he inquired good-naturedly, scratching his chin as he spoke. "It's not time yet, lassie. The ship won't set off 'till much later."

Despite the fact that he was a total stranger, she felt oddly compelled to impart upon him the reason behind her giddy excitement. "I'm meeting my parents today," she responded earnestly, beaming at the man, "after being separated from them for a long time."

"Ah, I see!" A broad grin spread across his face, as he nodded with understanding. "You must be looking forwards to it."

Blue nodded, unable to hide her elation. _More than you'll ever know_.

"Well, okay. If that's the case…I'll make an exception. You can board the ship now! Hopefully you won't feel as bored if you're already waiting on board."

"Really? Oh, you're so kind!"

"Of course. Anything to make that special moment come a little sooner."

**- - x x x x x - -**

Whilst the sailor's gesture was undoubtedly kind, there was not much for her to do other than continue waiting. However, whilst under normal circumstances, she would have tired quickly of the lack of entertainment offered by a refuelling ship, happier thoughts kept her distracted and preoccupied; so much so, that she didn't quite note the ship slowly filling up with passengers. Surrounded by her Pokémon, she instead diverted her attention towards the people embarking the ship, and at the expanse of cerulean water upon which the vessel was bobbing. Through the crowd, Blue was reasonably certain she spotted a familiar cap-wearing boy, as well as a shock of spiky auburn hair, though from this distance, she could not be sure; searching the sea of faces, though, affirmed their identities, and she caught sight of Red's quintessential sheepish smile as he was ushered up the ramp and onto the upper deck, and Green wearing a faintly bemused half-scowl as he followed, presumably lamenting his uncharacteristic lack of punctuality.

As Blue made her way to the upper deck, she was taken by surprise by a sudden whirl of movement at the corner of her eye, and by Ditty's increasingly agitated movements. Before she could react, she felt herself being forced to the side, accompanied by the confused cries of her Pokémon as they cast around wildly for their unknown enemy. The fact that her opponent was invisible reminded her of her faithful Silph Scope, which she hastily donned, only to be greeted by the sight of the oddest-looking creature she had ever seen. Even as its unfamiliar form wavered before her eyes, a command rose to her lips, only to die as she attempted to voice it. The beginnings of fear thronged through her system as she felt herself being hoisted bodily upwards and her airways constricted: _what on earth was happening?_

She struggled against its grasp, gasping for breath; as she felt herself being lifted above the guardrail, she could just about make out the ship nearing its first port. _Looks like the ship has arrived on the island. _A soft, strangled wheeze escaped from her lungs, as her fingernails scraped against whatever it was around her throat, stars beginning to swim before her eyes. _This is bad. How could we have arrived this fast? _Despite the oxygen deprivation, her mind was as lucid as ever, and a single thought rose above the others. _I've got to stop this thing from disembarking. I have to let somebody know..._

Her prevailing instincts faded away to nothing, as soon as she glimpsed them waiting at the port. Eyes fixed upon the approaching _Sea Gallop_, and with matching expressions of intermingled nervousness, uncertainty, eagerness and anticipation on their faces, were…her parents. It seemed as though they had dressed their best to greet her, a notion which brought tears to her eyes. So that was her father, clutching the photograph she had sent him, peering first at the picture, before transferring his hopeful gaze back to the ship, clad in a business suit and attempting to polish his glasses with his free hand. To his left was her mother, with the same sleek chestnut hair, stifling a gasp as Blue's head momentarily bobbed above the guardrail.

She could only watch as her father squinted first at the picture, and back at her, before breaking into a wide, relieved smile, ushering his wife up the ramp as soon as it touched the ground. _They're coming over!_

Ordinarily, she would have already been halfway down the ramp and rushing to meet them, but the fact that they would be risking themselves by coming so close to this unknown creature…

_No! Don't come any closer!_ She tried to warn them away, stretching out a desperate arm and gesticulating wildly. _The darkness! Please—_

**- - x x x x x - -**

On the upper deck, Red stopped short, frowning slightly as he took a double-take at what he had thought was a figment of his imagination. "Hey, Green." He reached forwards to grab the other trainer's shoulder.

"Hmm?" Allowing himself to be dragged towards the guardrail by the other boy, Green peered over to the lower deck. "Huh? Isn't that Blue?"

"Yeah—" They watched as she gestured wildly with one arm, the fingers of her other hand scrabbling desperately against the empty air by her neck. "She's acting sort of weird…"

Without thinking, Green vaulted over the barricade, barely even pausing to say anything further. "C'mon!"

**- - x x x x x - -**

_Don't come any closer! Can't you see—please—! _Unheeding of her wordless warning, her parents rushed forwards, ready to pull her into an embrace; she reached out blindly towards them, voice rising to fever pitch in her head. _Mummy! Daddy! Don't—_

Her fingers only touched empty air; eyes snapping open, she could only watch helplessly as they sank soundlessly into the puddle of nothingness, vanishing into thin air. Where her parents had stood, just seconds before, was only empty space, with nothing remaining to testify that any of this had happened. Before her eyes, the voidlike abyss dwindled, disappearing just as her invisible bonds loosened. She collapsed numbly to her knees, left staring at the innocuous patch of deck which had, just moments ago, been occupied by an empty chasm. "W-why?"

The sound of thundering footfalls failed to snap her out of her listless fugue, as she lifted her head to gaze unseeingly at the approaching figures. Two males. Both familiar. Two pairs of eyes, red and green, filled with concern. "Why?" she repeated hollowly, causing the two boys to stop short. Her fingers curled into fists, as she felt her shoulder beginning to shake. "_Why?_"

**- - x x x x x - -**

As soon as he drew up close to her, he immediately took stock of the situation; an unknown assailant, people vanishing into thin air. Unnatural forces were at work, and he had no idea what they were up against. "Red," he began, dropping to one knee to seize Blue's shoulders, "sweep the area. The enemy. It's still around. Can't have gotten far." The words were exhaled jerkily, one by one, from between gritted teeth, in a tone that booked no argument. "Go. Now."

Wordlessly, his friend nodded, expression unusually grim. "C'mon, Poli."

Green waited until his footsteps had faded away, before turning back towards Blue; just as he stared at her, he realised, far too late, that it ought to have been him sweeping the area, and not Red. What did he possibly know about comforting crying girls? This was the worst possible error in judgement he could have made in these circumstances. Biting his lip, he knelt beside her, awkwardly patting her shoulder and casting around hopelessly for what to say.

"Blue, I—" No sooner had he spoken, when, with a surprising surge of strength, she pushed him off-balance, and onto his behind. A faint cough of protest escaped his lungs, only to die away as she grabbed hold of the front of his shirt, burying her face in the dark fabric. "Err…"

"Why?" Blue whispered, voice muffled and choked by tears. "Why did this have to happen? Why today, of all days? Why? Why? _Why?_" Her voice rose to a desperate, heartbroken cry at the final word; above all, he hated himself for being so powerless and unable to do anything in the face of her grief. She punctuated each word by beating at him with clenched, white-knuckled fists, but he knew better than to react; each time he felt the breath being knocked out of him, he braced himself patiently, allowing himself to be pummelled until her sudden spurt of energy waned. Almost uncertainly, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, only to have her transfer her grip to his arms.

He winced at the sensation of her nails digging into his skin, leaving red, crescent-shaped weals as he attempted to gently but firmly detangle himself. "Blue," he attempted again, and subtly endeavoured to manoeuvre her into a position which placed less strain on his back; her chin slipped onto his shoulder, and he gave up after that, barely even moving as she hugged him close, near-throttling him. "I'm sorry."

She didn't reply, merely hiccoughing tearfully into the collar of his shirt. "T-today," she began, only to be overcome by a fresh wave of tears; in response, Green could only tighten his embrace, as though hoping to keep her together, to keep her from falling apart and shaking herself to pieces. "T-today, I was finally going to meet my pa-par-r-r-rents."

That explained everything; it made his heart ache for her, not only due to the horrors she must have seen, but also because he knew that had it been himself in her place, he would have felt the same way. "I'm sorry," he repeated quietly, as he began to trace circle upon circle on her back. "For everything."

**- - x x x x x - -**

All that mattered was the here and now. Under normal circumstances, she would have been mortified at herself, for bawling at Green in such a manner; however, it felt as though she had been drained from the inside out, and, if anything, she felt nothing but exhaustion, and a heart-wrenching sense of loss.

It hurt, more than anything, to think that anything and everything in her life could be snatched away so easily, in one fell swoop. Nothing felt real any more, and even though she could feel his warmth and his comforting solidarity, she was unable to keep herself from wondering, in some distant, detached part of her mind, if he was real. Was he actually here? Or every bit as real as that void, which had appeared and disappeared so suddenly that it seemed to have been a figment of her imagination?

More to reassure herself than anything, she latched on to him as tightly as she could, ignoring his sharp gasp as her nails dug into his back. "Tell me" she murmured hoarsely, shuddering as she spoke, "are you even real?"

She felt his movements stilling beneath her, as he seemed to consider her question. "Of course I am." His tone was familiarly, refreshingly baffled, as though he did not quite know what would happen if he answered her. "I'm as real as you are, and…" He faltered, seemingly unsure as to how to proceed. "I'll be here as long as you need me."

Blue smiled weakly into his shoulder. "That's all I needed to hear."

**- - x x x x x - -**

**epilogue. **_I know, slightly irrelevant to my prompt, extreme mood whiplash, and I really need to get some sleep, seeing as how it's 2.02AM as of writing this. Yes, I took a lot of liberties with what was in the manga, but, well, creative license, people! Anyways, the…other 99 should be less, err, angsty, and more true to OldRival form. Once again, thanks for reading, and to those who review, thank you for your time! (:_


	2. crash

**prologue.**

prompt - - - 002. crash

genre - - - humour, friendship/romance

rating - - - G

synopsis - - - _Their eyes met, and instead of a spark, their first meeting cumulated in a most spectacular collision of epic proportions. True to form, most of their meetings tended to involve such accidents, and they could only hope that the next time wouldn't be quite as painful._

disclaimers - - - I do not in any way, shape or form own Pokémon or the characters portrayed in this work of fiction.

**- - x x x x x - -**

It wasn't as though she voluntarily went out of her way to seek him; oh, no, contrary to that, it seemed as though _he_ was the one tailing _her_. For once, the roles had been reversed, and she found it was a sensation she completely and utterly enjoyed. After all, it was no secret that she enjoyed the attention lavished upon her by members of the opposite gender, and whilst it was a reasonably common sight to see Blue ogling particularly attractive specimens with impunity, seeing _one particular_ male stubbornly resisting her charms was a rare phenomenon indeed.

Never let it be said that she was unattractive, for that was the furthest possible thing from the truth. Whilst she had a list of potential suitors the length of her arm, she chose to ignore all of them – even if they _were_ easy on the eyes, and had the most _charming_ and _compelling_ of personality – in favour of aiming for what seemed so far out of her reach. The moment she laid eyes on him, she knew he was the one.

To be fair, thinking you met _the one_ when you were eleven was quite a stretch. But then and again, people matured quickly in this world, so perhaps it wasn't so far-fetched. What with having to shut down the illicit operations of nihilistic organisations set on world domination, and swindling unsuspecting male trainers with her feminine charms, Blue didn't think it was that big a deal.

She had heard a lot about him over the course of her travels. That he was called Green, and possessed an arsenal of powerful Pokémon – a Charizard, Golduck and Machamp, for starters – and had mowed down gym leader after gym leader, collecting badges with the efficiency of a true professional. Above all, she had heard that he was fairly good-looking, and had quite the fan club going on, which made her all the more eager to meet him _before_ they did.

It also helped that she learnt he had an excellent poker face and was absurdly good at the slot machines. So! A target who was loaded, and who knew how to get cash, fast. Even better.

At any rate, seeing the green-eyed boy with the wild shock of auburn-brown hair for the first time stirred interest within her; he had only given her the most cursory of glances, before turning away, with an odd expression on his face. What a refreshing contrast he made with Red. The other boy had been completely and utterly enamoured by her wiles, and had fallen for her tricks hook, line and sinker; a sweet guy, yes, but too typical. In short, he offered her nothing new, nothing fascinating, and this time, meeting the stoic, unsmiling trainer, she knew she had met her match.

What an impressive sight he was, leaning low over his Charizard's neck as it soared through the sky, ever-closer to Saffron City; he had been so absorbed and engrossed by what he was doing that he completely and utterly failed to notice her very obnoxiously _visible_ self floating through the air on a gigantic, inflated Jigglypuff, and had only eased his pace after she called out at him.

"Bing! Cute male in sight!" Blue was unable to hide the glee from her voice as her Silph Scope gave her a fine and uninterrupted view of his surprised face. "Hi there! What's your name?"

The expression he pulled was _priceless_. Nearly falling off his Pokémon, the boy glared at her. "I'll pretend I didn't hear or see anything—yaaargh!"

Not seeing where he was going, he had pulled his knees in sharply, urging the Charizard into a steep dive; before she could say anything, Pokémon and trainer collided painfully with an invisible wall, uttering harmonically mingling cries of surprise and pain.

She giggled, before hurriedly wiping her broad smile off her face as soon as he recovered his balance and composure, his dragon-like Pokémon growling as they drew level with her. "Couldn't you have warned me about that a _little earlier_?" the boy snapped frostily, rubbing his jaw from where it had hit the back of his Charizard's head.

In retrospect, she mused, watching as he took to the skies without a further word, this would probably _not _be the first or last time something of the sort happened.

**- - x x x x x - -**

Now, long after that first time they had laid eyes on one another, Blue had to laugh. They were no longer children now, and had more or less become reasonably familiar with the other's mannerisms, to the point that it seemed as though they had known each other for ever. In a respite between saving the world and meeting up with Silver for the weekend lunch, she was finally allowing herself some time to do typically _female_ things, such as shop and stroll along the streets of Veilstone City. The Sinnoh region was a wonderful place, and she rather regretted not coming here sooner.

Of course, what with not having to face the latest emergency alongside her friends, she didn't really expect to see Green anytime soon; what with him being a gym leader – oh, how far he'd come since that day, years ago, when he had sourly complained about the Saffron City crisis and not being able to get his next badge – she was more than certain he would not be going anywhere for vacation anytime soon.

As she stepped into the elevator, rummaging through her purchases, Blue paid no heed to where she was going, and proceeded to literally crash into somebody, sending her toppling onto the other person, and scattering her various shopping bags around the floor. A familiar groan of consternation sounded from somewhere beneath her, and, completely and utterly bemused, she peeled herself off her (rather comfortable!) human cushion to see who it was.

"Green!" she squealed, loud enough to make him cringe. "Fancy seeing you here!"

He merely glared up at her, looking both mortified and affronted. In recent years, it seemed he was becoming more and more discomfited by her close physical proximity, an interesting change she had been pleased to note. "Indeed," he quipped sardonically, voice growing steadily waspish in response to her ebullient loudness.

A crowd of passers-by had begun to gather, several males offering to help lever her up, and others collecting the dispersed belongings. She waved their hands away, beaming up at them. "We're fine, fine!" she insisted, aware of the face that she was still sitting on a rather red-faced Kanto gym leader, who had hidden his face behind a faintly-trembling hand in abject embarrassment: several of the passers-by had done double takes upon catching sight of him, and it looked like he resented such scrutiny. Waiting until the last of the crowd had reluctantly returned to their business, she finally deigned to get off Green's knees, helping him upright before brushing her dress off. "No, really, what are you doing here? I thought gym leaders never got holidays…"

He snorted, running a hand through his hair, which was as untameable as ever. "You thought wrong. I just thought I'd come and see what Professor Rowan was up to, and meet up with some of the other gym leaders to discuss the annual regional meet."

"Hmm, sounds boring." To her, those activities he listed sounded awfully dull, though in some secret part of her mind, she wanted to be part of his world, and to be able to better understand it. "Wait…wait a minute!" A sudden thought struck her. "I thought Professor Rowan went to Johto for the press conference…?"

Green blanched slightly. "What? I, er…well, um, then I just came to visit the other gym leaders, then."

She continued as though she had not heard him, rubbing her chin thoughtfully as she spoke. "Let me see…Crasher Wake went to visit someone in Kanto, I think, Volkner's in Olivine City, Fantina's off in Hoenn…say, how _are_ you supposed to discuss the annual regional meet if almost half of the gym leaders are missing?" Peering closely at his expression, she could see no inkling of his thoughts. So it seemed Green's poker face was as good as ever, and he wasn't revealing anything unless he felt like it.

Exhaling heavily through his nose, the other trainer sighed. "Fine, fine, you got me. Look, to shut you up, what about we go somewhere for dinner? My treat."

Well, that was surprising. Blue beamed broadly at him, slipping her arm through the crook of his elbow, and managing to wallop him with half of her shopping bags. "Aww, how sweet of you. How can I possibly refuse…?"

"How indeed," he muttered as he steered her out of the Veilstone Department Store and towards Route 214.

**- - x x x x x - -**

_All those years ago, their eyes met for the first time, and instead of a spark, their earliest meeting cumulated in a most spectacular collision of epic proportions._

By the time they had arrived at the Seven Stars Restaurant, dusk had well and truly fallen, and they were just in time for dinner. They had managed to land a good table by the window, overlooking Lake Valour, and as Blue surveyed the candlelit tables around them, she wondered why he had picked _here_, of all places. After all, Green was _renowned_ for his battle prowess and prodigious skill, yes, but for his ability to woo women? She had had no evidence whatsoever of that.

_And now, their most recent meeting had also resulted in a crash, though she found she didn't really mind. Nobody was hurt, and as far as she was concerned, things were turning out a lot better than that fateful first time._

"How'd you know of this place?" she asked, cupping her chin in her hand as she gazed at her companion; with his features illuminated by the flickering radiance of candles, he looked more at ease than she had ever seen him, and that usual flinty hardness in his cool green eyes was gone, replaced by a curious expression she did not quite recognise.

He shrugged. "Platina told me," was his succinct response,

"Oh yes…the Grand Lake Hotel is part of the chain of hotels the Berlitz family owns, right?" She accepted the menu from the waiter, flicking it open and perusing the entries with much interest; the prices here were quite exorbitant, and even though the expenditure was coming out of _his_ wallet, she still felt rather horribly underhand for taking advantage of his generosity like that.

"Right on," was his most dry response. "She also told me that I get a discount, if I ever decided to drop by." Turning a page on the menu, a faint frown flickered across his features.

"Ah." Blue nodded with equal measures of relief and satisfaction, before transferring her attention back to the menu. "By the way, it's awfully sweet of you to go out of your way to wine and dine me like this."

The reaction her words elicited did not fail to satisfy her expectations; surveying the gym leader from over the top of her menu, she had to suppress a giggle as he blinked at her with something close to bemused affront, before raising his own menu to hide his face from view. "It's nothing," was the indistinct reply she could hear, over the undercurrent of idle chatter from neighbouring tables, and the light jazz currently filtering in through the restaurant's sound system.

She had to suppress a wry smile. Here she was, sitting with the very talented – and, oh, how readily she would admit it, _attractive – _Viridian gym leader, whom had young women all over tripping over their own feet to get him to notice them, and yet there he was, sitting opposite her looking slightly ill-at-ease, like a Magikarp who had found itself stranded on a little patch of land. It was, she thought almost fondly, what made her like him even more: the fact that he could be so _merciless_ on the field, effortlessly downing opponents with the use of brilliant tactics and years of experience, and at the same time so oddly vulnerable, if such a word could even be tacked on to a person such as Green Oak.

**- - x x x x x - -**

By the end of their evening, Blue had been surprised – and pleased! – to note that her companion had loosened up after a few glasses of wine as well as a shared plate of dessert, and had kept the conversation flowing as easily as the alcohol offered by their overfriendly waiter had. She watched as, slightly red-faced but still highly sober, Green beckoned for the check, quietly exchanging a word with the maître d', the other man nodding before retreating, credit card in hand. "You really don't have to do this, you know," she protested faintly, absently creasing her napkin as she spoke. "After all, I _did_ run into you and probably upset your plans—"

"No, it was my pleasure." He waved her objections away, accepting the bill for their dinner and signing the receipt with a quick, illegible scribble. "I hope you had a…ah, _good _time."

As they made their way towards the restaurant's exit, Blue smiled, slipping an arm through the crook of his elbow; that was all the assurance she would give. He merely blinked, but made no move to pull away or even object, ambling out of the building in a rather stately, companionable silence. It was only once they were outside, the cool night air washing over them, that he finally turned to her, expression unreadable. "Well, I—"

"Thank you for a great evening," she said, drawing gently away to stand on her tiptoes, hands resting on his shoulders; the gym leader quirked a quizzical eyebrow at her actions, but, thankfully, said nothing, only inclining his head slightly in an abbreviated nod; it was then that she took her opportunity, leaning forwards to kiss him before he could launch any form of resistance. _Sweet_, she mused, hiding a smile. _Like strawberries and cinnamon._

If exclamation points had a sound, he would have been enunciating them with great aplomb; instead, completely and utterly stunned into silence, he blinked owlishly down at her, fine lines creasing his forehead. "You're…welcome. I…uh, I guess we'll meet again sometime."

"Oh yes," she assured Green confidently, unable to hide the smile from her face. "And next time, we'll make sure no painful collisions are involved, am I right?"

**- - x x x x x - -**

**epilogue. **_I sincerely hope the other oneshots don't take as long to write. I seriously need to stop getting distracted by crackfics and whatnot. Yay for less angst! I love this pairing more than I should, haha. Thanks for the reviews, guys! Peace out, rock on, and feel free to drop me a line if you like or dislike this. _


End file.
